Device for mounting tire chains

ABSTRACT

A yoke-shaped chain tightener, comprising a rigid guide member and a cooperating member slidable therealong, is placed behind a raised automobile wheel having a traction chain draped over its tire, with the extremities of the yoke curved forwardly at opposite sides of the wheel. A male and a female coupling element are fastened to opposite ends of the rear stringer of the chain, of which the female element may constitute a terminal link, and are loosely fitted into respective seats on the two members which are initially spaced apart and can be moved toward each other by manipulation of a handgrip at one yoke extremity. One coupling element, preferably the male one, is pivotable against a restoring spring force for snap-action engagement with the other element whereupon the two seats can be again separated and the yoke withdrawn.

United States Patent Theodor lnsam [72] Inventor Jochbergstrasse 20,Kitzbuhel, Tirol, Austria [21] AppLNo. 696,207

[22] Filed .Ian.8,l968

[45} Patented June 22, 1971 [32] Priority Jan. 9, [967,Jan. 16, 1967[33] Austria [3 l] A208/67 and A394/67 [$4] DEVICE FOR MOUNTING TIRECHAINS 3,099,928 8/1963 Showers, Jr.

ABSTRACT: A yoke-shaped chain tightener, comprising a rigid guide memberand a cooperating member slidable therealong, is placed behind a raisedautomobile wheel having a traction chain draped over its tire, with theextremities of the yoke curved forwardly at opposite sides of the wheel.A male and a female coupling element are fastened to opposite ends ofthe rear stn'nger of the chain, of which the female element mayconstitute a terminal link, and are loosely fitted into respective seatson the two members which are initially spaced apart and can be movedtoward each other by manipulation of a handgrip at one yoke extremity.One coupling element, preferably the male one, is pivotable against arestoring spring force for snap-action engagement with the other elementwhereupon the two seats can be again separated and the yoke withdrawn.

PATENTEDJUNZZIBH 3585;883

SHEET 1 OF 5 Theodor Insam INVIZN'IOR.

PATENTEU JUN22 I971 Theodor I nsam INVENTOR.

BY R9 Attorney PATENTEUJUN22I97I 3585 883 Theodor Insam INVENTOR.

PATENTEDJUN2287| 8585;888

SmiiT l- SF 5 Theodor Insam INVEN'IOR.

arl flaws Attorney PATENTEUJUN22IH7I 3,585,883

smear 5 OF 5 59 6a in @74 4 5 7 f3 5 8 Theodor Insam INVENTOR.

Attorney DEVICE FOR MGUN'IING TIRE CHAINS My present invention relatesto an implement for mounting a traction chain on the tire of anautomotive vehicle wheel to prevent skidding on snowy or otherwiseslippery terrain.

in my concurrently filed application Ser. No. 696,179 entitledSnow-Chain Applicator For Vehicle Wheel now abandoned, I have discloseda device for draping a tire chain with front and rear stringers around avehicle wheel to be harnessed, that device including a three-prongedrack adapted to reach into the space between the wheel and anoverhanging fender so that the chain may be properly positioned withoutthe need for insertion of ones hands into this narrow clearance. Thegeneral object of my present invention is to provide convenient meansfor fastening a chain so positioned, particularly the inconvenientlyaccessible rear stringer thereof, in an expeditious manner withavoidance of contact between the user's hands and the tread surface ofthe tire.

A more particular object of my invention is to provide a set of matingcoupling elements, forming part of the aforeclescribed device, whicheasily interlock and are readily releasable even under inclement weatherconditions, owing to a simple and compact construction not subject tofunctional impairment by dirt or ice.

These objects are realized, pursuant to the present invention, by theprovision of a male and a female coupling element which are fastened toopposite ends of the rear stringer of a chain to be mounted, theseelements being adapted for snap action interlocking engagement uponbeing moved from a spaced-apart position to a position of closestapproach; such movement is effected with the aid of a chain tightenerhaving two relatively movable members which form respective seats forthe two coupling elements, the latter being held in these seats looselyenough to be withdrawable therefrom upon subsequent reversal of motionof the tightener members.

Advantageously, in accordance with a more specific aspect of myinvention, one of the two coupling elements (preferably the male one) istransversely displaceable, against a suitable restoring force such asgravity and/or the stress of a spring, by camming action exerted upon itby the other element. Thus, for example, the transversely displaceableelement may be a hook with a beak having a beveled leading edgeengageable by the approaching female element. The latter may be abracket, a loop or the like and, in a specific instance, may beconstituted by a link of the stringer itself; when of loopedconfiguration, the female element is advantageously mountedsubstantially horizontally on its seat so that the beak of thecooperating hook can drop into it by swinging in a substantiallyvertical plane bisecting the loop.

According to another important aspect of my invention, the chaintightener temporarily supporting the two coupling elements comprises ayoke-shaped guide member, e.g. a pipe or a rod, slidably engaged by acooperating member, the latter having an extension terminating at anextremity of the guide member to facilitate relative displacement of thetwo membets and of their respective seats for the coupling elements. Thecurved shape of the guide member allows it to be positioned behind awheel to be harnessed, with the extremities of this member projectingforwardly at opposite sides of the wheel so as to be readily accessiblefor manipulation of the coupling elements. Initially, the seats forthese two elements are separated by a distance corresponding to asubstantial portion of the length of the guide members, e.g. up to abouthalf that length: this separation allows one of the coupling elements tobe attached to its seat substantially midway of the yoke before thelatter is placed behind the wheel, whereupon the other coupling elementmay be seated on its supporting member at a. location near one of theforwardly projecting ends of the yoke. A handgrip at the opposite yokeextremity may conveniently serve to pull the last-mentioned couplingelement behind the wheel into contact with its mate. The forwardstringer may then be locked directly in front of the wheel.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective rear view of a chain-mounting implementaccording to the invention, together with the lower part of a tire to beharnessed thereby;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the midportion of the implement of FIG. Iin a coupling position thereof and with parts broken away;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the tightener members of theimplement of FIGS. I and 2, taken on the line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a female coupling element of part of theassembly of FIGS. l and 2;

H6. 5 is a top view of the vehicle wheel and the mounting device of FIG.I, with the tire chain omitted;

FIG. 6 is a partial end view taken on the line VI-Vl of FIG. 5, showingthe implement together with a portion of the tire and chain;

FIG. 7 is a top view of a modified implement according to the invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view drawn to a larger scale and taken onthe line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views similar to FIG. 7, showing the implementthereof in two different positions as well as part of the associatedvehicle wheel;

FIGS. ll, 12 and B3 are perspective views of different coupling elementsadapted to be used with the implements shown in the preceding FIGS.

FIG. 14 is a top view of a female coupling element so usable;

FIG. 15 is an end view of the element shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a side view of the element shown in FIGS. 14 and 15;

FIG. 17 is a side view of a male coupling element generally similar tothat illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a female coupling element adapted tocooperate with the male element of FIG. 17;

FlG. 19 is a top view of a seat for the element of FIG. 18; and

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of part of another modified chaintightener with the male coupling element of FIG. 17 and a cooperatingfemale element.

In FIG. 1 I have shown an automobile wheel with tire 72 to which atraction chain 30 is to be attached without any need for raising thewheel; the rear stringer 30' of this normally open chain terminates in apair of links 11, 12. Link 11 is fastened to a hook-shaped couplingelement 21 having a beak 6 which faces a coacting female couplingelement 13 in the form of an upstanding plate provided on one side witha loop 8; terminal link 12 is fastened to the plate 13. A chaintightener disposed for the most part behind the wheel comprises a curvedand rigid pipe 1 traversed by a cable 18; one end of pipe 1 is fastenedto a handle 20, the cable 18 emerging from the opposite end of the pipeand being attached at that point to a handgrip 19. A bracket 17 securedto pipe 1 supports the yoke-shaped tightener on the ground in a raisedposition as best seen in FIG. 6. FIGS. 5 and 6 also show that thecentral portion of the yoke is disposed behind the wheel while itsextremities curve forwardly at opposite sides of the rim of the tire 72.

Details of the construction and mounting of the tubular yoke member Iand the two coupling elements 13, 21 are shown with greater clarity inFIGS. 2-4. As best seen in FIG. 2, cable 18 is anchored inside the pipe1 to a cylindrical slider 10 having a lateral arm 5 projecting outwardlythrough a lon gitudinal slot in pipe 1, this slot extending overapproximately half the length of the pipe. Arm 5 forms a socket 4 (FIG.3) above the pipe to serve as a seat for a lug 26 on plate 13 which isthus removably supported on the slider ill for displacement along theright-hand half of yoke member l as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2. Another arm2, pivotable about a pin 23 which is secured to the yoke l near thecenter thereof, has a similar socket 3 to receive a lug 2.4 projectinglaterally from hook 211. The lower end of arm 2 passes into the tubularmember l through a cutout 7 (FIG. 1) and is anchored in the interiorthereof to a short compression spring 21 3 bearing upon a partition lie.The assembly 2, 2i is thus vertically swingable, against the restoringforce of spring M, from a normal position of operative alignment withloop it into an off-normal position illustrated in dot-dash lines (FIG.2) in which the beak 6 clears that loop and allows its leftward movementfor interlocking engagement, the beak thereupon snapping into the loop 8to establish the coupled position illustrated in FIG. 2. Thisinterlocking is brought about by a pull on handgrip 119 which moves theassembly w, b, 13 toward the hook 2i against the force of a biasingspring 115 which surrounds the cable l8 and bears upon the partition l6while being partly received in socket it), thus tending to keep thelatter in the starting positions illustrated in FIG. ii in which thecoupling elements l3 and 211 are separated by about half the length ofyoke 1. Spring M may form an integral extension of spring H5.

in harnessing the tire 72 with the chain 30 by means of the implementillustrated in FIGS. 1-6, the user first places the chain loosely on thetire, eg with the aid of a pronged applicator of the type referred toabove. Next, the male fastener Zll attached to the end ill of rearstringer 30' is inserted into its seat 3 on arm 2 of yoke ll; this canbe easily done in front of the wheel and before the yoke is placed inits position illustrated in FlGS. E, and 6. Next, with the extremity ofthe yoke bearing the handle 29 still projecting forwardly from behindthe wheel, the coupling element 13 attached to link 112 is inserted intoits seat 4 on the arm d which at this point is positioned close to thehandle 20. Finally, the user pulls the handgrip w to draw the slider illwith its looped coupling element 13 toward the hook Zll whose beak 6 hasan inclined leading edge 22 whereby the approaching loop 8 cams thisbeak upwardly to bring about the interengagement of the two couplingelements. When the user thereafter releases the handgrip l9, springurges the slider w away from partition 116 so that arm 5 is detachedfrom lug 26 to release the coupling element l3 from its seat; yoke llmay then be moved to the left FIGS. l and 2) to complete thedisengagement of the tightener from the chain by withdrawing the arm 2from lug 24 of hook 211.

In FlGS. 7ltl l have illustrated a modified chain tightener whichdiffers from that of the preceding Figures in that its rigid yoke 63 isin the shape of a bar that forms the inner member of a telescopedassembly and serves for the guidance of a surrounding tubular member aswhich is about half as long as the yoke 63. If the latter has a uniformcurvature (circular or helicoidal), tube as may be rigid; otherwise thistube should be substantially noncompressible but sufiiciently flexibleto fit thechanging shape of its guide member 63. An arm 64, pivoted toan end of rod or bar 63 at 65, forms a seat for one of two matingcoupling elements as described hereinabove; this seat may be held in anormal position by a suitable restoring spring or the like, not shown,similar to spring 2145 of FIG. 2 Another seat as is rigid with aterminal sleeve 67 of tube as initially positioned approximately midwayalong guide bar 63; the opposite end of tube 66 is provided with asleeve 7i serving as a handle for holding that tube in position while ahandgrip 70 rigid with bar 63 is pulled to bring the two mats 6d, 68%into mutual proximity as illustrated in FIG. it As shown in FIG. 8, tube66 may be of circular cross section partly obstructed by a diaphragmplate 69 which has a noncircular (here rectangular) opening for positiveengagement with the correspondingly profiled guide bar 63. The operationof the system of IFIGS. 7ll0 is similar to that of the previousembodiment; after the two coupling elements mounted on seats 64' and 6%have become interlocked, the relative movement of members 63 and 66 isagain reversed to release these coupling elements from the tightener.

FIG. ilil shows another type of female coupling element adapted to beused with the chain tighteners heretofore described. This elementcomprises an upright plate 3i with a lug 32, adapted to fit into acorresponding seat on the tightener such as, for example, the formation64 or 6% of FlGS. '7li0. Plate 311 has a vertical slot 33 adapted toreceive the beak of a hook-shaped male counterpart which may have theform illustrated in FIG. l2, i.e. a bent pin 34 traversing a boss 35rotatably mounted on a supporting plate 336 from which a lug 337 extendsrearwardly for insertion into its own seat. A spring 38 tends to holdthe hook 334 against a stop 39 on plate as, the beak 94B of the hookbeing cammed upwardly upon approaching a coacting female element such asthe slotted plate 31 of HG. llll. Since the hook 34 is swingablerelative to its shank 37, the associated seat as well as the seat of theconfronting female element may be fixedly mounted on their respectivetightener members.

In the coacting female element is swingably mounted for downward tiltingby the approaching beak surface 40, as by being carried on the suitablybiased arm 66 of FIG. 7, the hook 34 may be rigid with its support 36,37. This has been illustrated in H0. H3 where the female couplingelement has the shape of a loop all with a shank 42 removably held inthe slot of mounting arm 64 which pivots about a pin 43 in a recess ofbar 63 against the force of a leaf spring 44 as indicated by arrow A. inprinciple it is thus immaterial whether the male or the female couplingelement yields upon the approach of its mate to facilitate interlocking;usually, however, space considerations may make it easier for a hook topivot upwardly than for a loop or eye to move downwardly.

H68. 714 to to show a particularly simple construction for a femalecoupling element adapted to be used in a device according to theinvention. This element is a bracket 50 in the form of a generally.l-shaped strip of sheet metal or the like whose longer leg 52 forms alug 26a receivable in the slot of a mounting piece such as a block 27forming a seat therefor, this block being similar to the formations 64,68 described above and having therefore been shown only schematically.The shorter leg 5i of bracket 5% abuts the forward face of block 27 andis linked with leg 52 by a reinforcing strip 54 which may be a bolt, arivet or an expanding pin (i.e. a helicoidally coiled resilient strip).The bight portion of bracket St has a notch 55 accommodating the beak ofan oncoming hook, this notch having sloping flanks for guiding the hookinto engagement with the bracket. Leg 52 also serves as an anchorage forthe associated chain link l2 and, for this purpose, has cutout 49 whichmay be similar to a cutout 56 of a cooperating hook 2111 havingsubstantially the same contour as the hook 21 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Hook210, which consists of flat sheet metal or the like, terminates in a lug24a receivable in a mounting block such as the one shown at 2% in FIG.20 Cutout 56 separates the body of the hook from a flexible tongue whichmay be pushed aside to facilitate attachment of chain link 1 1.

An angled coupling element such as hook 21a may also cooperate with alooped coupling element 61. as shown in FIG. M. The latter element maybe fastened by a similar loop 62 to the terminal link 12 of the chain ormay itself constitute that terminal link. A seat 57 horizontallysupports the loop 61 and overlies it with a flange 6b having a gap 5%for the adjoining link 62; this gap has a rearwardly sloping bottomsurface 59 which lifts the link 62 to help detach the loop at from itsseat upon the engagement of this loop by a mating hook which draws itforwardly in the direction of arrow B.

in FIG. 20 l have shown the hook 21a of FIG. l7 mounted by its shank Nain a block 28 rigid with a leaf spring 87 which is fastened to a tubularguide member 88 generally similar to the tube 66 of FIGS. 7ll0. Theother member of the chain tightener shown in FIG. 20 consists of a pairof wires 73 which may have a certain degree of flexibility if the tube$8 is not uniformly curved. The wires 73 terminate in a pair of prongs Mwhich engage a loop 83 fastened by another loop 81 to the end of thechain stringer in the manner heretofore described for loops er and 62.An extension 86 of wires 73 underlies the loop b3 and prevents it frommoving downwardly along the prongs 84. The prongs 84 are separated by agap 85 which clears the beak 6a of hook 21a to let it drop into the loop$3. The operation of this assembly is analogous to that of theembodiment previously described.

it will thus be apparent that my invention may be realized in a varietyof ways, not necessarily limited to the structural details specificallydescribed and illustrated, without departing from the spirit and scopeof the appended claims.

lclairn:

ll. A device for mounting a traction chain with front and rear stringerson a tire of a vehicle wheel, comprising a male coupling elementfastened to one end of the rear stringer of a chain to be mounted; amating female coupling element fastened to the other end of said rearstringer, said elements being adapted for snap-action interlocking uponbeing moved into mutual engagement; and a chain tightener with tworelatively movable members forming respective seats for said couplingelements, the latter being movable by said members into interlockingengagement and withdrawable from said seats upon subsequent reversal ofmotion of said members; the seat of one of said elements beingtransversely displaceable and provided with restoring means tending tohold said one element in operative alignment with the other element, atleast one of said element having a camming surface for moving saidtransversely displaceable element against the force of said restoringmeans upon said elements approaching each other.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said male element is a hookwith a beak confronting said female element, said beak having a leadingedge constituting said camming surface.

3. A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said hook is provided with ashank received in said displaceable seat, said restoring means includinga resilient connection between said displaceable seat and the associatedmember of said chain tightener.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein said resilient connectioncomprises a leaf spring supporting said displaceable seat on saidassociated member.

5. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein the seat for said femaleelement is a block with a face confronting said hook and a recess insaid face, said female element being a generally J-shaped strip with alonger leg received in said recess and a shorter leg bearing upon saidface, said legs being separated by a bight portion having a notch forengagement with said beak.

6. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein said female element is a loopand the seat thereof has formations in engagement with said loop forholding same in a substantially horizontal plane on the level of saidbeak, the latter being swingabie in a substantially vertical planebisecting said loop.

7. A device as defined in claim 6 wherein said formations include a pairof upstanding prongs forming a gap therebetween for passage of saidbeak.

3. A device as defined in claim 7 wherein one of said members is a tubeand the other of said members comprises a pair of parallel wiresextending within said tube and projecting therefrom, said prongs beingintegral with said wires.

9. A device for mounting a traction chain with front and rear stringerson a tire of a vehicle wheel, comprising a male coupling elementfastened to one end of the rear stringer of a chain to be mounted; amating female coupling element fastened to the other end of said rearstringer, said elements being adapted for snap-action interlocking uponbeing moved into mutual engagement; and a chain tightener with tworelatively movable members forming respective seats for said couplingelements, the latter being movable by said members into interlockingengagement and withdrawable from said seats upon subsequent reversal ofmotion of said members; said members being a yoke-shaped guide member,positionable with forwardly curving extremities behind a vehicle wheeldraped with a traction chain to be mounted thereon, and a cooperatingmember slidable along said guide member, said cooperating member havingan extension terminating at one extremity of said guide member forfacilitating relative displacement of said members.

10. A device as defined in claim 9 wherein said chain tightener isprovided with biasing means tending to maintain said members in a normalrelative position in which said seats are separated by a substantialportion of the length of said guide member.

11. A device as defined in claim 10 wherein said guide member is acurved pipe and said cooperating member is a slider received in saidpipe, the latter having a lateral projection forming one of said seats,said pipe being provided with a longitudinal slot penetrated by saidprojection.

12. A device as defined in claim 11 wherein said extension comprises acable fastened to said slider and emerging from said pipe at an endremote from the location of said slider in said normal position. 1

l3. A device as defined in claim 12 wherein said biasing means comprisesa coil spring surrounding part of said cable within said pipe.

14. A device as defined in claim 9 wherein said guide member is a curvedrod and said cooperating member is a tube embracing a substantialportion of said rod.

15. A device as defined in claim 14 wherein said rod is substantiallytwice as long as said tube.

16. A device as defined in claim 9 wherein said guide member is providedwith support means for stabilizing said chain tightener on the ground.

1. A device for mounting a traction chain with front and rear stringerson a tire of a vehicle wheel, comprising a male coupling elementfastened to one end of the rear stringer of a chain to be mounted; amating female coupling element fastened to the other end of said rearstringer, said elements being adapted for snap-action interlocking uponbeing moved into mutual engagement; and a chain tightener with tworelatively movable members forming respective seats for said couplingelements, the latter being movable by said members into interlockingengagement and withdrawable from said seats upon subsequent reversal ofmotion of said members; the seat of one of said elements beingtransversely displaceable and provided with restoring means tending tohold said one element in operative alignment with the other element, atleast one of said element having a camming surface for moving saidtransversely displaceable element against the force of said restoringmeans upon said elements approaching each other.
 2. A device as definedin claim 1 wherein said male element is a hook with a beak confrontingsaid female element, said beak having a leading edge constituting saidcamming surface.
 3. A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said hook isprovided with a shank received in said displaceable seat, said restoringmeans including a resilient connection between said displaceable seatand the associated member of said chain tightener.
 4. A device asdefined in claim 3 wherein said resilient connection comprises a leafspring supporting said displaceable seat on said associated member.
 5. Adevice as defined in claim 3 wherein the seat for said female element isa block with a face confronting said hook and a recess in said face,said female element being a generally J-shaped strip with a longer legreceived in said recess and a shorter leg bearing upon said face, saidlegs being separated by a bight portion having a notch for engagementwith said beak.
 6. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein said femaleelement is a loop and the seat thereof has formations in engagement withsaid loop for holding same in a substantially horizontal plane on thelevel of said beak, the latter being swingable in a substantiallyvertical plane bisecting said loop.
 7. A device as defined in claim 6wherein said formations include a pair of upstanding prongs forming agap therebetween for passage of said beak.
 8. A device as defined inclaim 7 wherein one of said members is a tube and the other of saidmembers comprises a pair of parallel wires extending within said tubeand projecting therefrom, said prongs being integral with said wires. 9.A device for mounting a traction chain with front and rear stringers ona tire of a vehicle wheel, comprising a male coupling element fastenedto one end of the rear stringer of a chain to be mounted; a matingfemale coupling element fastened to the other end of said rear stringer,said elements being adapted for snap-action interlocking upon beingmoved into mutual engagement; and a chain tightener with two relativelymovable members forming respective seats for said coupling elements, thelatter being movable by said members into interlocking engagement andwithdrawable from said seats upon subsequent reversal of motion of saidmembers; said members being a yoke-shaped guide member, positionablewith forwardly curving extremities behind a vehicle wheel draped with atraction chain to be mounted thereon, and a cooperating member slidablealong said guide member, said cooperating member having an extensionterminating at one extremity of said guide member for facilitatingrelative displacement of said members.
 10. A device as defined in claim9 wherein said chain tightener is provided with biasing means tending tomaintain said members in a normal relative position in which said seatsare separated by a substantial portion of the length of said guidemember.
 11. A device as defined in claim 10 wherein said guide member isa curved pipe and said cooperating member is a slider received in saidpipe, the latter having a lateral projection forming one of said seats,said pipe being provided with a longitudinal slot penetrated by saidprojection.
 12. A device as defined in claim 11 wherein said extensioncomprises a cable fastened to said slider and emerging from said pipe atan end remote from the location of said slider in said normal position.13. A device as defined in claim 12 wherein said biasing means comprisesa coil spring surrounding part of said cable within said pipe.
 14. Adevice as defined in claim 9 wherein said guide member is a curved rodand said cooperating member is a tube embracing a substantial portion ofsaid rod.
 15. A device as defined in claim 14 wherein said rod issubstantially twice as long as said tube.
 16. A device as defined inclaim 9 wherein said guide member is provided with support means forstabilizing said chain tightener on the ground.